From babies to toddlers!

Well, it's been quite a while since the last blog update. It's amazing how quickly time flies by! We can't believe it when we say it, but our little babies turned one year old last month.
What an incredible, crazy, stressful, challenging, and wonderful year we have had. Simply put, it's been the best year of our lives.
So much has changed since the last blog update, I don't really know where to begin. I guess I'll just dive in to it starting with our little boy Mason...


Mason smiles from the time he wakes up to the time he goes to bed! He is ALL BOY!!! Ever since he learned to walk at 11 months, he's been non stop. Everything he can get his hands on gets its structural integrity tested by slamming it against a hard surface. He loves to take apart everything and figure out how every toy works. He's already outsmarted most of the family with his remote control skills, ordering "on demand" movies and recording shows on the DVR. He is so joyful! It's so much fun to watch him discover the world!!!

And then there's beautiful Maddy. What a sweetheart she has become! She walks around talking to herself in baby talk and laughing at herself in the mirror. She is so fascinated with her own reflection we sometimes thinks she would prefer a identical sister. She is our little social butterfly. She loves to interact with everyone. She also loves to learn the dances from her baby videos and walks around singing "EIEIO"

And let me tell you, when she bats her eyes and blows a kiss, the world tilts on its axis. She's our little charmer. She sure has daddy wrapped around her finger.

Here she is watching her video.

Mason playing at the park in his new shoes.

This picture represents both of them really well. Maddy in the spotlight, watching what's going on and Mason in the background trying to put a twig on the head of a bolt in the wood.

And then there's mommy... She's doing good. Five days a week she watches the babies and does most of the day to day things around the house. Her life is full of diapers and bottles, laundry and bills, and trying to stay on top of everything. The payoff comes in the little moments during the day when the babies do something that cracks her up or melts her heart. She's the hardest working woman I've ever seen... and impossible to keep up with.

Two days a week she works at Jenny Craig. She has been there for 7 years now, and she still enjoys it. And it gives her a chance to get out of the house and talk to adults for a while!

As for me... I'm good! I finished the Fire Academy in December and I've been working at Station 62 in Aloha. I've already had some crazy experiences, and seen a lot of interesting things.

I recently passed my first benchmark and I'm about to change fire stations. I'll now be working out of 64, which is the Tanasbourne area. Life as a probationary firefighter is very tough, but it's still wonderful. It's been a great job so far. I work 24 on and 48 off, so I get plenty of time to be home with the family.

Well, I guess that's about it for now. I hope you enjoyed a little glimpse into our lives. Thank you for reading! I'll do my best to update a little more often.

God bless,

The Needham Family

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

The kids first visit to Santa!

The family got to visit daddy at the fire station Christmas Day

The kids with their loot. They really cleaned up for their first Christmas!

What an amazing year it has been in the Needham household! Filled with such an amazing mix of emotion and circumstance. A year with so much change, life disassembled and rearranged. Fatigue, stress, joy and elation all intertwined. What a wonderful way to experience life.

The year started with Amanda in an amount of physical discomfort I can't imagine, carrying two babies to week 36. I was unemployed, having been laid off from the airlines, and sleeping on the couch (because Amanda needed the whole bed). Then life became so much easier after we had the twins...HA! Mason with his acid reflux, and neither of them sleeping for more than a couple hours at a time. Amanda went back to work after a couple months and still breast fed through the night. Daddy was a full time nanny and full time student, along with the much needed help of the grandmas (We can't thank you guys enough).

Then in August, a HUGE break. I got a job with the Fire Department. This would turn out to be not without it's fair share of sacrifice though. The work days were long and exhausting and the weekends were filled with study groups. Amanda had to pick up the slack on the home front. Needless to say we were exhausted. But, along with this chaos came something amazing. And it came in the form of two smiling little faces in the morning. It came as screams of joy when daddy came home from work. It came as the sounds of giggles from the side by side cribs the babies were supposed to be going to sleep in. In one of the most trying times in our lives, the greatest things in our lives were born. We found ourselves torn between days of frustration and days of pure love and joy.

And now we've entered into a new reality. One that involves me being in a new job, with new challenges and experiences. One that involves a new schedule and new hoops to jump through. Amanda and I are having to redefine, once again, what we choose to define as normalcy. We couldn't be more happy venturing into our new life now. Setting it up as if decorating a new house.

It's been a wonderfully challenging year. I'd be lying if I said we were hoping to keep up the turmoil. We'd prefer a quiet 2010, but we'll take whatever life has to hand us.

God Bless everyone in the new year and remember to enjoy your everyday. Take the good and the bad for what it is, and remember that it's all part of a beautiful life.

The Needham Family

Oh, how things change!

These kids have changed so much since the last update (which was quite a while ago, sorry, life has been very busy) so I thought I would throw a few of our more recent pictures on here.

The kids are crawling all over the place now, and love to wrestle with each other.

Maddy enjoying time with mommy at Gymboree.



We had to little pumpkins for Halloween.

This is the smile Maddy flashes when she gets caught outside the baby gate.

Can't get mad at that!

Mason is such a happy little boy!

Bundled up for a walk.

We love her black tights. They make her legs look so small.

We are so happy watching these kids grow up day by day. There is nothing more enjoyable than watching them laugh at each other and play.

Amanda has done an AMAZING job watching the kids and taking care of all the household chores while I've been in the Fire Academy. She's worked her butt off!

My academy days are down to 2. I get my badge on Tuesday and start first thing Wednesday morning out at Station 62 in Aloha. I'll be there for 3 months and then be moved to another station.

Life keeps trucking along for us, and we're so thankful for our blessings. We hope that you and your family have a very Merry Christmas.

God Bless,

The Needham Family

6 month pictures!

Simple Pleasures

Don't you just wish you could get such pure enjoyment and

pleasure out of something as simple as eating peaches?


It's wonderful watching your kids grow and experience
everything in life for the first time. It reminds us to take joy
in the simple pleasures we take for granted every day.
Like the sweet taste of a peach :-)

Month 6

We're Lovin' our Peaches!

Gearin' up for football season...Go Ducks!!!

Mason is so full of smiles and giggles. The world is so funny to him!

Don't let the picture fool you, he HATES to sleep! This is a rare occasion.

Maddy, on the other hand, is a sleeping pro. And we sure love her for that!!!

She seems to have it all figured out.

Life keeps rolling on around here. The babies are growing and doing great. They both light up our entire world!

I start the Fire Academy in 2 weeks, and Amanda goes to working 2 days a week. We're both excited for the change. For me it's bitter sweet. I've been so blessed to be able to be home with the kids for the first months of their lives, and I know I'm going to miss being with them all the time. They're such a source of joy and I'll miss seeing their sweet smiles or hearing their little laughs all day. On the other hand, I'm excited to get my career rolling again, and to be a provider for our family. Most importantly, I'm excited for Amanda to get to be home with the kids more. I'm happy that she gets to be a full time mommy. I know how good that is for her and the kids.

So, for now, we're just enjoying the next couple weeks for what they are. We find ourselves more and more just living in the moment, and enjoying what we can in whatever situation we find ourselves in on any given day.

Thanks for checking in on us, and God bless

The Needham Family

July update

I guess I’m a little overdue updating everyone on our lives. A lot has happened since the last update.
First, and most important, are the twins. They are doing great! They just turned 5 months old on the 4th of July. They’re rolling over, grabbing toys, laughing, and starting to entertain each other. They can almost hold their bottles now, and they’re just starting to grab their own pacifiers. For the most part they are still immobile, but we’re not far away from chasing these little ones around the house. As far as sleep goes, they’re doing better. Maddy is our star performer, she sleeps all the way through the night now in her crib. Thank God! Mason usually sleeps in his crib until 2 am. Then he wakes up hungry and sleeps with us for the remainder of the night. He always wakes up at 5:30 am and is done sleeping, and daddy gets to get up and make a big pot of coffee!!! We can’t complain though, we’re getting a lot more sleep than a few months ago.
Some good news; I accepted a position with Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue for a Firefighter/EMT. I start my training September 1st and I’ll be in training for 16 weeks. We feel so incredibly blessed to get this position, considering the economy, and it couldn’t come at a better time, we’re looking forward to the paychecks. Plus, I’m really excited to do the job itself, it’s going to be a lot of fun.
This job also means that Amanda gets to go down to 2 days a week at work starting in September, which is the ideal schedule for her. She’s excited to be home with the kids five days a week and still be able to work a couple days.
In other news, our condo is on the market. We made a contingent offer on a home in Keizer, and we’re hoping to sell soon. We know how slow the market is, however, so we have no illusions of moving anytime soon. We might get this house in Keizer, or we might not be able to sell, and therefore lose it. We’re leaving it up to God. Maybe we’ll be here another year and then buy a home in the Portland area. I’ve learned that the easiest way to make God laugh is to tell him all of your plans.
Well, I think I covered all of the big things. Babies, job, moving, etc. I hope everyone is having a great summer. Don’t wait to enjoy it…it goes by too quickly! Thanks for checking in with the Needhams.
God Bless.